TEHRAN - Last week, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, traveled to Indonesia on his eleventh international trip.

It was expected that his visit to the country to take place sooner due to Iran's neighborhood policy and regionalism. 

Considering the countries that the president has visited so far (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Qatar, Oman, Uzbekistan, the United States, Kazakhstan, and China), the neighboring countries are a priority in Iran's foreign policy. Nevertheless, Raisi's visit to Indonesia is still important.

Although relations between Iran and Indonesia have been mostly friendly since the 1950s, political and economic ties between the two countries have also undergone fluctuations. This is while the effectiveness of economic and political investments with each foreign partner depends on the stability and sustainability of relationships. 

The peak of relations between the two countries was during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, who seriously pursued "look to the East" approach to counter the Westerners for their strong opposition to Iran's nuclear activities. In this regard, Iran sought to enhance its position among Middle Eastern energy suppliers to Southeast Asian countries. In addition to energy exports, Iran also significantly increased its non-oil trade with countries in the region.

While Iran's non-oil exports to Indonesia had not exceeded $90 million in 2005, with the upward trend in bilateral relations, this figure reached over $6 billion in 2010. A similar pattern is observed in imports from Indonesia. These exchanges have also had an impact on the political relations between the two countries.

Indonesia’s former president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, described Iran's nuclear program as peaceful and declared the Security Council resolutions against Iran as illegal in a press conference in 2007. Indonesia also abstained from voting on Security Council Resolution 1803 against Iran.

However, these relations did not remain very stable. With U.S. pressure on Southeast Asian countries to join the Western sanctions campaign against Iran, the trend of Iran's economic and trade growth with these countries stopped and declined.
In was in such a situation that Indonesia voted in favor of Security Council Resolution 1835 against Iran. In fact, although Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, had good economic relations with China, the presence of the United States and the relationship between Southeast Asian countries and America was strategically important to balance China's power and influence, making them vulnerable to pressure from the U.S. not to cooperate with Iran.

In the past few years, however, in view of developments and dynamics in the international system, the two countries have moved towards getting closer to each other, and with the visit of Raisi to Indonesia and the conclusion of new agreements in various economic, political and cultural fields, it seems that a new chapter in the relations between the two countries has begun. In this trip, agreements were inked in the field of health and healthcare, including the unveiling of surgical robots and equipping twelve important hospitals in Indonesia with Iranian medical equipment, all of which have been developed through innovation and knowledge-based work. Rachmat Gobel, Deputy Coordinator of Industrial and Development Affairs of the Indonesian House of Representatives, said: "Iran has strengths in healthcare technology and medicine, etc." He also said: "Iran's nanotechnology research is one of the most recognized studies in the world. This technology is the future that Indonesia must master."

Furthermore, after 17 years of negotiations, the two countries signed a preferential trade agreement to become the second country after the UAE to reach such an agreement with Indonesia. Within the framework of preferential trade agreements several other agreements - including eradication of illegal drug trafficking and its precursors, science and technology and innovation, guaranteeing halal products, energy development, regulation of pharmaceuticals, biological and traditional medicines, cosmetics and processed food products - were also concluded.

Although the current trade volume between the two countries is not significant – it stood at $257.2 million in 2022 - the $20 billion outlook announced by the Iranian presidency coupled with the quality of the agreements reached indicate a new understanding between the two countries of the new developments in the international system.

Indonesia, with the slogan of "free and active" in its foreign policy, seeks to present an active and impartial diplomacy. It is a policy that the country followed during the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. In the current tension and competition between the US and China, the country has adopted the policy of "rowing between two rocks1". Also, despite its close relations with countries in the Persian Gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia, and despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is Indonesia's largest trading partner in the region, Indonesia has also expanded its relations with Iran and pursued a neutral position in regional competitions.

In the same vein, Indonesia refrained from voting on a resolution in 2020 that included extending sanctions on Iran's arms sales and purchases and abstained from voting for a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on the "Human Rights Situation in Iran" in December 2021. It had previously voted against a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran. On the other hand, given Indonesia's tensions with the European 

Union over the ban on exports of certain raw materials in 2021, Jakarta seeks to benefit from diversifying its partners and strengthening South-South relations by taking more initiatives.

Iran, with a focus on Asia and in line with its policy of multilateralism and regionalism, has sought to expand its relations with Indonesia, which has a large consumer market and serves as a gateway to other ASEAN countries. Iran aims to neutralize unilateral Western and US sanctions against itself and play a more serious role in the new order.

Therefore, in addition to its close relations with China as the largest economy in East Asia, Iran seeks to expand its relations with Indonesia. With this in mind, the visit of the Iranian president to Jakarta at the invitation of President Joko Widodo and the conclusion of 11 cooperation agreements in various economic, political, scientific, cultural, and other fields can be seen as a reflection of their understanding of the developments and transition in the international system. They have begun a new chapter in their relations that, if continued and sustained, will result in a win-win outcome for both countries.